Print / cut suggestion

[kiandersbc]

Good evening everybody! Can anyone give me suggestions on what to set my print for when cutting plywood 1/8? i think that is the right thickness, the thicker of 1/4 and 1/8. Thank you in advance.

[dklgood]

Try medium Proofgrade walnut plywood settings if it is 1/8". 1/4 is thicker than 1/8, so it is 1/4 use Thick walnut plywood settings.

[marmak3261]

I moved this to beyond the manual where we can freely discuss non-proof grade materials and settings.

Begin with selecting a Glowforge preset material for a thinplywood. Then manually adjust as needed or switch to thick and go up or down.

Plywood is so difficult to design for since there are so many formulations. It is notorious for having pockets of resistance that are immune to the laser.

Test and test again on a small section. But it is always good to start with Proofgrade settings and work from there.

Cutting plywood

Hi. why when i cutt plywood not cutt all area ? [IMG-0737] [IMG-0738] [IMG-0739] [IMG-0740] [IMG-0741]

Inspecting thin plywood for voids and glue

I just posted this info as a response to a problem, and realized it could be helpful to others if I posted it on it’s own here. Sometimes plywood has hidden voids that are filled with glue. The laser often won’t cut all the way though the glue spots. Sometimes you can get through with another pass or two of the laser, or just finish the cut by hand with a hobby knife, but I find it best to just avoid the voids if possible by identifying where they are. I use this worklight from costco; with …

[kiandersbc]

Thank you soo much.

[kiandersbc]

Thank you so much.

[evansd2]

Check out #6:

Common problems/questions

Hello! You’ve been referred to this post because you have a common problem or question. Check out the list below to see what this post can do for you. Just click on a topic that interests you.

1: I'm new to Glowforge and really have no idea where to start

Hey, welcome to the forum! Glowforge has a getting started page, it’s definitely worth your time: <a href="https://support.glowforge.com/hc/en-us/sections/11792517736475-Design-and-Print-Tutorials">https://support.glowf…

[kiandersbc]

Hey guys, I have another question. I saw in the section in GF where it says that a .5 can be engraved if trey is removed. Which settings should be used to cut something that size or is that possible?

[dklgood]

You can engrave something up to 2 inches, but the surface to be engraved must be in the 1/2" focus range of the lens. You can engrave things that are 1/2" or less without removing the honeycomb tray. Things thicker than 1/2" require that the tray is removed.

[dan84]

You’re very probably not going to be able to cut through something 1/2" thick.

1/4" thick wood or acrylic is about as much as a 40/45W laser like yours can cut through.

[kiandersbc]

Thank you again.

[kiandersbc]

Thanks

[deirdrebeth]

@dan84

You’re very probably not going to be able to cut through something 1/2" thick.

I’m going to qualify that with “without a really wide cut” - you absolutely can, especially if you’re able to flip the piece you’re cutting over and cut from the backside, but you’re going to end up with a line that’s really really wide, and it’s going to take repeated attempts, and it’s way more efficient to use a saw…but it is doable presuming your material can be cut through (there are quite a few plywoods that use glue that is impermeable to lasers)

[djfb]

Actually, I have cut thru 1/2” red oak. There is a thread for it. Look for red oak. It’s an older thread.